Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee has postponed a scheduled briefing by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa after the Minority declined to attend the meeting.
The Minority’s decision was linked to its demand for detailed records on the nearly GH¢50 million spent by the government to evacuate Ghanaians from South Africa.
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Dr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, said the meeting was rescheduled to allow all members of the committee to participate.
“We scheduled a meeting for the Minister to come and brief the committee. Unfortunately, the Minority decided that they will not be participating. I, as chair, decided that we must do whatever it takes to have all the committee members be part of the meeting with the Minister,” he said.
According to Dr Vanderpuije, Mr Ablakwa remains prepared to provide the information requested by the Minority, including a breakdown of the expenditure incurred during the evacuation exercise.
“So the minister is totally committed to providing whatever information the Minority needs. And he will do same. If we had had the meeting, he was coming to give us some level of information. The whole exercise of the evacuation, what cost went into it and where we are,” he told Accra-based Citi News.
He explained that some of the information being demanded was not immediately available when the Minority first raised the issue because the evacuation exercise was still ongoing.
“At the time when I believe the Minority was asking for the information, the exercise was not over. Now it is over. So the minister is committed to providing the information,” he added.
Dr Vanderpuije said he would continue working to promote cooperation among members of the committee as it considers the matter.
The rescheduled briefing is expected to give the Minister an opportunity to provide further details on the evacuation exercise, including the costs incurred and the status of the operation.
